Pharmacognostic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Securigera securidaca Seeds and Seed Oil

Background and objectives: Although weed plants are considered undesirable in a particular situation, some weed seeds can be a valuable and cheap source of therapeutic natural compounds. Securigera securidaca (L.) Degen & Dorfl (Fabaceae) is widely distributed in Europe, Australia and Asia as a weed plant. This study investigated the bioactive compounds of S. securidaca seeds as well as its potential anti-inflammatory properties. Methods:  The fatty acid and sterol content were investigated with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and phenolic compounds were detected using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). The thermostability of the oil was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Formalin-induced paw licking test and myeloperoxidase activity were investigated. The study was conducted by creating six groups of rats including a control group (vehicle-treated rats, 250 µL/kg, i.p.), formalin group (50 µL of 2.5% formalin), positive control (paracetamol, 100 mg/kg, i.p), and groups of S. securidaca seed oil (250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 μl/kg, i.p). Results: S. securidaca seeds contained a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acid content including linoleic acid (64.602 ± 0.793%) and oleic acid (15.353 ± 0.461%). Stigmasterol and campesterol were not detected in the oil but it contained esterified β-sitosterol (6.621 ± 0.08 mg/g). The seed oil couldn’t create a significant reduction in the MPO activity. It showed a slight but not significant effect on formalin-induced pain reduction. Conclusion: The seed is a rich source of linoleic acid which makes it a good candidate to be used in the pharmaceutical industry

An overview of multi-ingredient kidney stone dissolving formulations from Traditional Persian Pharmacy

Kidney stone, as a third important urinary tract disease, is a common disease affecting 10-15% of the world population. Effective medical treatment for the disease is not yet well established. On the other hand, there is an increasing global demand to manage and control various diseases with natural medicine and medicaments originating from Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Traditional Persian medicine (TPM), as one of the most popular schools in CAM, suggests numerous clinical interventions for kidney stones. This review provides various related compound formulations for kidney/bladder stones from the standpoints of Persian scholars. These remedies have been cited in a series of traditional pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine, namely Qarābādin or prescription. More than fifty multi-ingredient formulations for kidney/bladder stones have been found by reviewing five main Persian pharmacopeias. Various dosage forms have been reported for the management of kidney/bladder stones, such as Majoon (confection), Sharāb (syrup), Jawārish (semisolid confection), Qors (Tablet), and Safoof (oral powder). Considering the positive pharmacological or biological activities of the constituents of filtered formulations, many of those can be re-formulated and either experimentally or clinically evaluated to be introduced as new natural remedies in this field

Learning and Memory Impairment Induced by Amyloid Beta Peptide and Effects of Thymol on Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet That Received Amyloid Beta

Thymol is a natural phenolic compound that is present in various plants; the significant antioxidant activities of Thymol may be helpful in preventing the progress of various oxidative stress-related diseases. Recent studies have confirmed that antioxidant-rich foods play a vital role in the disease prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We examined the protective and therapeutic effects of Thymol on the Aβ-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) impairments in rats fed a high-fat diet. LTP is a type of synaptic activity that has been thoroughly studied in the hippocampus and is thought to be the neural correlate of learning and memory. If Thymol is protective against AD-related impairments, then natural therapeutic agents based on the structure of Thymol could be used to protect against oxidative stress-related illnesses, such as AD

The genus Scrophularia: a source of iridoids and terpenoids with a diverse biological activity

Context: Scrophularia genus (Scrophulariaceae) includes about 350 species commonly known as figwort. Many species of this genus grow wild in nature and have not been cultivated yet. However, some species are in danger of extinction. Objective: This paper reviews the chemical compounds, biological activities and the ethnopharmacology of some Scrophularia species. Materials and methods: All information was obtained through reported data on bibliographic database such as Scopus, United States National Agricultural Library, Biological Abstracts, EMBASE, PubMed, MedlinePlus, PubChem and Springer Link (1934–2017). The information in different Pharmacopoeias on this genus was also gathered from 1957 to 2007. Results: The structures of 204 compounds and their biological activity were presented in the manuscript: glycoside esters, iridoid glycosides and triterpenoids are the most common compounds in this genus. Among them, scropolioside like iridoids have shown potential for anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and wound healing activity. Among the less frequently isolated compounds, resin glycosides such as crypthophilic acids have shown potent antiprotozoal and antimicrobial activities. Conclusion: The Scrophularia genus seems to be a rich source of iridoids and terpenoids, but isolation and identification of its alkaloids have been a neglected area of scientific study. The diverse chemical compounds and biological activities of this genus will motivate further investigation on Scrophularia genus as a source of new therapeutic medications

Pharmacognostic and Preliminary Phytochemical Investigation on Doronicum scorpioides Roots: Pharmacognosy and phytochemistry of Doronicum scorpioides

In many herbal markets medicinal plants are sold in dried forms which make it difficult to authenticate them and recognize the adulterations. In the present study the preliminary pharmacognostic parameters including microscopieal studies, extractive values and thin layer chromatography analysis of roots of Doronicum scorpioides (Asteraceae) were evaluated. Three fractions of the plant (hexane,dichloromethane and ethanolic) were applied to the silica gel plates and run in nonpolar, semi polar and polar mobile phases. Chromatographic spots were visualized using different spray reagents. The preliminary screening of the D. scorpioides roots revealed the constituents of the different fractions of the roots including alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenes saponins, coumarins and essential oils which can be a useful guide for further phytochemical and pharmacognostic research. This is the first report on phytochemical constituents of D. scorpioides roots. Also the pharmacognostic investigation of the D. scorpioides root can be a reliable method for authentication of the medicinal part of the plant and to recognize any adulterations

Phytochemical assessments of Astragalus hamosus pods (Iklil-ul-Malik)

Authentication and quality control of herbs in herbal markets is an important challenge for practitioners and food and drug organizations. Rapid and simple pharmacognostic evaluations are beneficial to overcome this problem. On the other hand, there is a mist about the scientific names of some of these herbs even in scientific literatures. Iklil-ul-Malik or Astragalus hamosus L. (Papilionaceae) is one of these medicinal plants.Pharmacognostic (macroscopic, microscopic and phytochemical) properties of Iklil-ul-Malik pods were investigated. Different ash and extractive values were determined. The HPTLC finger prints of the herbs’ fractions were prepared, using different reagents and mobile phases. The fatty acids, steroids, alkene and terpenoids of the pods were investigated by GC-MS analysis. Soluble fatty acid and soluble sugar content were determined by spectroscopic methods. Total ash, acid insoluble and water soluble ash were determined to be 75.00±11.83, 8.33±2.89 and 40.00±5.00 mg/g respectively. The extractive values for n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethanol fractions were 0.77%, 0.16% and 0.49% (w/w). Free amino acid and soluble sugar contents were respectively 3.33±0.001 and 8.83±0.004 (w/w %). Polyphenols, triterpenes, glycosides and glycolipids were detected in different fractions. The principal fatty acids were linoleic acid (48.64%), linolenic acids (25.35%), lauric acid (8.12%) and stearic acid (6.38%). By presenting the pharmacognostic values and HPTLC fingerprints in this manuscript, the herb can be authenticated

Inhibitory Effect of Bunium Persicum Hydroalcoholic Extract on Glucose-Induced Albumin Glycation, Oxidation, and Aggregation In Vitro

Background: Glucose-induced protein glycation has been implicated in the progression of diabetic complications and age-related diseases. The anti-glycation potential of polyphenol-rich plant extracts has been shown previously. Bunium Persicum has been demonstrated to possess a high level of polyphenols. The aim of current in vitro study was to determine the possible inhibitory effect of Bunium Persicum hydroalcoholic extract (BPE) on glucose-induced bovine serum albumin (BSA) glycation, oxidation, and aggregation. Methods: Folin-Ciocalteu assay was used to measure the content of total phenolic compounds of BPE. To test the in vitro effect of BPE on the formation of glycated BSA, thiol group oxidation, and protein aggregation of BSA, various concentrations of BPE were incubated with BSA and glucose at 37 °C for 72 hr. Glycation, thiol group oxidation, and aggregation of BSA were then measured using thiobarbituric acid, 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, and Congo red colorimetric methods, respectively. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 16.0). One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used to compare group means. P<0.05 was accepted as the statistically significant difference between groups. Results: The results demonstrated that the content of total phenolics of BPE was 122.41 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram dried extract. BPE (10, 15, and 30 μg/ml) significantly inhibited the formation of GA in a concentration-dependent manner. BPE also significantly decreased the levels of thiol group oxidation and BSA aggregation. Conclusion: The results showed that BPE has anti-glycation and antioxidant properties and might have therapeutic potentials in the prevention of glycation-mediated diabetic complications

Phytochemical investigation on volatile compositions and methoxylated flavonoids of Agrostis gigantea Roth

In this study, methoxylated flavonoids and volatile constitutions of Agrostis gigantea Roth (Poaceae) were investigated for the first time. The flavonoids were identified by spectroscopic methods (H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR, COSY, NOSEY, TCOSY, and HMBC). The volatile constitutions of aerial parts and seeds were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Two methoxylated flavonoids, luteolin 5-methyl ether (1), and cirsilineol (2) were isolated from the aerial parts of this plant. According to the GC-MS data the main constitutions of these volatile oils belong to the simple phenolic category which include coniferyl alcohol (18.80%) and eugenol (12.19%) in aerial parts and seeds, respectively. By using the computer-aided molecular modeling approaches, the binding affinity of these compounds was predicted in the catalytic domains of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). These two isolated flavonoids were investigated in-vitro for their inhibitory activity on 4T1 breast carcinoma cells. It was predicted that these compounds could be well-matched in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (3H82) active site, but based on the in-vitro assay, the IC50 values on cytotoxicity were 428.24 +/- 3.21 and 412.7 +/- 3.02 mu g/mL for luteolin 5-methyl ether and cirsilineol, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that these flavonoids exhibit low cytotoxicity against 4T1 breast carcinoma cell line. Keywords: Methoxylated flavonoids; Agrostis gigantea Roth; 4T1 breast carcinoma cell; Aryl hydrocarbon recepto

Cytotoxic Effects of Pistacia Atlantica (Baneh) Fruit Extract on Human KB Cancer Cell Line

Plants with anticancer properties are considered as cancer preventive and treatment sources, due to their some biological effects. Apoptosis induction and anti-proliferative effects of Baneh extract on various cancer cell lines have been reported. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of this fruit on KB and human gingival fibroblast cell lines (HGF). KB and HGF cells were treated with various concentrations of ethanolic Baneh extract and cisplatin as positive control. Cytotoxic activity and apoptosis induction were investigated using WST-1 and Annexin V assays. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and student’s t-tests. IC50 after 24 and 48 hours treatment were respectively 2.6 and 1 mg/mL for KB cell line, and 1.5 and 1.6 mg/mL for HGF cell. During 48 hours Baneh extract induced apoptosis without significant necrosis, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The induction of apoptosis in KB cells was significantly higher than HGF. It seems that ethanolic extract of Baneh contains compounds that can suppress KB cell growth through the induction of apoptosis. Within 48 hours, less cytotoxic effects were observed on normal fibroblast cells; therefore, it might be a potential anticancer agent